


Scorpiones & Anisoptera

by lilhawkeye3



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Biracial Character, F/M, Gen, Gryffindor Rose Weasley, Hogwarts Head Boys & Head Girls, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, One Big Happy Weasley Family (Harry Potter), POV Scorpius Malfoy, Patronus Charm (Harry Potter), Quidditch, Shirtless, Slytherin Lily Luna Potter, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, Spirit Animals, Walking In On Someone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25105888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilhawkeye3/pseuds/lilhawkeye3
Summary: Scorpius sees a new part of Rose that he'd been blind to before. Now, he wants to prove to the world- and himself- that the two of them would be better together than apart.Scorpion: order of Scorpiones in the class of Arachnida. Passion, defense, rebirth.Dragonfly: order of Odonata in the class of Insecta. Change, transformation, self-realization.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy & Roxanne Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26
Collections: Hermione's Nook Naked Weasley Fest!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't dabbled much in any of the Next-Gen characters before, so this fic fest was a challenge! I had fun exploring the possibilities and relationships of this generation, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This takes place in an AU where "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" did not occur.

Scorpius couldn’t believe he’d been reduced to a simple errand boy. He was Head Boy! He shouldn’t have been trying to sneak into another house’s Quidditch tent to fetch something that wasn’t even his. And yet, fate had been cruel and he’d lost the game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ against Albus. What an unfair world.

Roxanne Weasley had borrowed Albus’ Thunderbolt 5 for the game that Gryffindor had played against Hufflepuff last weekend. It’d been used well, as the Lions had won 320-60. Roxanne hadn’t been able to return it afterwards, though, as one of the Hufflepuff chasers had collided with her mid-air and the two had subsequently been in the hospital wing for the past day.

This morning, Albus’ new snitch came in the post, and of  _ course _ his friend had wanted to break it in. This had led to the aforementioned game over who would retrieve Albus’ broom from the lion’s den so they could have a one-on-one match.

(That’s not to say Scorpius hadn’t been as equally excited to try it out. He just hadn’t wanted to be the one to sneak into the Gryffindor tent.)

But here he was, sneaking down to the Gryffindor Quidditch tent. 

It was a good thing that Healer Patil had put the fear of Merlin into younger students who tried to copy death-defying stunts the day after a Quidditch match, as the pitch was empty. He was able to make it down to the tent with no issue.

He ducked through the flap entrance of the tent and stood still for several heartbeats, waiting cautiously to see if any sounds would filter out from deeper within. Nothing noticeably stood out, and so he continued into the enclosure.

Some part of him had expected the Gryffindor tent to be arranged similarly to Sytherin’s, but the two couldn’t have been more different. The Slytherin tent was neat and orderly, with everything having an exact place to belong when not in use (thanks to Albus being the captain and bringing his organizational tendencies to the team). In comparison, the Gryffindors had things strewn  _ everywhere. _ There were boxes of supplies in several stacks across from the team lockers, where many had things tumbling free and onto the ground. There was a pile of uniforms on a bench that were hopefully clean, and three pairs of dark boots all haphazardly arranged beneath them.

He snuck towards the back of the tent, towards where he assumed the warded lockers, changing areas and showers would be. It was where Slytherin kept their brooms and game balls, so they couldn’t be taken by another person and had curses cast on them, and luckily for him, Gryffindor had the same set up. It didn’t take long for him to creep over and grab Albus’ broom from the nearly-full rack; thankfully it lacked a warding spell due to it not belonging to a member of the team.

Broom successfully in hand, Scorpius turned to leave, consequently now facing the direction of the changing area. 

And that’s when he saw her.

He recognized who it was immediately. How could he not? He’d spent nearly every day of the past seven years in her presence. They’d dueled on the Quidditch pitch, they’d been partners in Potions, they’d fallen asleep on each other in the library after late nights of studying. They’d just had breakfast earlier that morning.

And still, despite having just seen her hours ago, he was struck speechless.

Her back was turned to him. Her arms were crossed in front of her and she was lifting her shirt up and over her bushy cloud of caramel-colored curls. A part of him registered the absence of a bra as he indulged in the sight of the freckled galaxies scattered across her tawny skin, the scar paralleling her spine from when she flew into a tree as a child, and the tautness between her shoulder blades as she pulled her shirt free–

But then there was a movement along where the waistline of her pants rested, and his gaze followed it to find a magical tattoo of a silver scorpion pacing back and forth protectively, its tail flexing menacingly.

Scorpius’ eyes widened and he backed up in shock, only stopping when he tripped over one of the long, wooden benches. He scrambled to his feet, his hand tightening on Albus’ broom and rushed around the corner and back towards the exit of the tent. Hopefully once outside in the bright fall sun, he’d find escape from both this situation and the traitorous, deeply buried thoughts that now sought entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius Malfoy: Head Boy, Slytherin, 7th year.  
> Rose Weasley: Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, 7th year.  
> Albus Potter: Slytherin Quidditch Captian, 7th year.


	2. Chapter 2

He was still out of it as he mechanically made his way through the castle, blindly finding his way to the Room of Requirement where he’d left Albus, when he collided with another student and they both fell harshly onto the stone floor. He rubbed his backside with a groan; he’d definitely have a bruise there after this exceptionally clumsy day.

“Scorpius? What are you doing up here?”

The familiar voice made him look up and fully focus on his surroundings for the first time in about twenty minutes. Out of all the students he could’ve possibly run into during his current internal crisis, it was just his luck that it was a Weasley.

“Hey, Earth to Scorpius!” She snapped her fingers in his face until he blinked sharply and met her gaze clearly.

“Roxanne. Are you alright?”

She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Nothing Healer Patil couldn’t fix up. Are _you_ alright, though? You look like you’ve seen a boggart.”

Scorpius really couldn’t fault her observation. He opened his mouth to form an answer, but nothing came out the first few attempts. He groaned and let go of the blasted broom to run his hand across his face before trying again. “Rose… she has a scorpion tattoo?! And her freckles– they’re everywhere.”

Roxanne’s eyebrows raised dramatically at his lost stammering. “Oh boy. She broke you, huh.”

“What?”

Now the dark-skinned girl grinned widely at him as she helped him to his feet and picked up her cousin’s broomstick. “We’re going to meet the Weasley-gamot,” she explained, although her words left him more confused than before.

“Excuse me?”

She rolled her eyes as she led him down the hall and back towards the stairs he had just climbed. “The Weasley-gamot. It’s what we call ourselves: the collective Weasley kids and unrelated cousins. Because we have a sense of humor,” she added in a deadpan as she stared at him closely. “You can’t seriously have not known about this. You’ve been practically adopted since third year!”

Scorpius shook his head helplessly. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Roxanne cackled cheerfully. “Well, you’re in for a treat then.” They reached the third floor and started heading towards a corridor of abandoned classrooms that were a particular nuisance to Scorpius on his prefect rounds. It seemed that Roxanne knew exactly where she was taking him, as she stopped in front of a door that he’d always found locked. However, with an utterance of the simple phrase _Moony, Padfoot and Prongs,_ the doorknob turned freely under her touch and opened to allow them entrance.

Once inside, Roxanne let go of his arm and drew her wand. His eyes grew wide as he watched her successfully cast the Patronus charm. A _fully_ corporeal Patronus. The silvery figure of a cat circled around the room and alleviated much of Scorpius’ fears as Roxanne spoke to it. “Cousins of mine, I call the limited Weasley-gamot to session. The bug has found the flower.”

“You know how to cast a messenger Patronus?” Scorpius asked in awe as they watched the silver cat disappear through a wall.

Roxanne’s answering smile lit up her entire face. “Uncle Harry teaches us a regular Patronus in third year, and the messenger version during our OWL year. Nifty, isn’t it?”

He nodded sluggishly, still wrapping his head around the display of magic he’d just witnessed. Scorpius was one of the top students in the school, and yet the Patronus charm had been the one spell that always eluded his talents. He’d only ever been able to produce a non-descript shield. It was decently effective against a single dementor, but was pathetic in the shadow of Roxanne’s.

Thankfully, he wasn’t allowed to dive into his thoughts for long, as the door burst open to reveal the first arrivals. 

Scorpius could practically see the waves of excitement rolling off of Lily Potter as she sprinted into the room, quickly caught sight of him, and then lunged at him to wrap him in a hug. He managed to keep his footing, something that came from years of experience on the receiving end of her sisterly affections. 

“Took you long enough!” She exclaimed as she released him, but didn’t give him a chance to reply before she had rushed over to Roxanne to make sure her cousin had recovered from her injury.

“Is Lily here? She ran ahead of me,” Lucy Weasley’s voice filtered in from the corridor only moments before her figure appeared in the doorway. She waved at Scorpius as she came in. “Hey, Boss.” The nickname Lucy had given him on her first day as a Hufflepuff prefect had caught on amongst the other fifth year students, and had effectively replaced his official title at this point. He would be surprised if his Head Boy pin wasn’t replaced by one that said “Boss” by the end of the calendar year.

“Hi, Lucy.” Hopefully this was someone who’d be on his side. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

Her hazel eyes slid over towards Roxanne for a brief moment before flicking back to him. “Roxanne’s the one that called the ‘Gamot to assemble. I’ll leave it to her.”

Scorpius’ eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Traitor.” 

Lucy stuck her tongue out in return.

“Oh, hello Lucy!” An airy but delighted voice called out from the entrance. Selene Scamander was the youngest of the group that frequented the Burrow at thirteen. She’d followed Lily into Slytherin, and Scorpius and Albus had made sure to look out for her the past three years just as they did with Lily. “Hello, Scorpius. This is sooner than I thought it would be.”

“You knew about this too, Selene?” Fourth year Michael Longbottom trailed after her, with Hugo Weasley hot on his heels, almost as if he’d been herding both his younger cousins. He came straight for Scorpius while Michael wandered after Selene.

“Glad to see you’ve finally come to your senses,” Hugo teased as he clapped Scorpius on the shoulder. Scorpius wasn’t sure what he was referring to but was so far off the deep end already that he just gave a half-hearted shrug in return. Hugo seemed to accept it, so he was safe in his ignorance of the situation for just a bit longer…

Hopefully he could hold out for that long. He was doing his best to fight off his imaginative yet incredibly intrusive thoughts of Rose in further states of undress than earlier, but his strength was slowly ebbing.

The universe seemed to take pity on him, as three final upper-year students entered the room and closed the door behind them, the lock clicking softly into place. Scorpius knew Alice Longbottom well– the Gryffindor girl was in his year and his counterpart as Head Girl– and he’d become _familiar_ with the Scamander twins and their pranks over the past five years. Loran and Lysander may have been in separate houses, but the two sixth years saw this as a ‘strategic advantage’ on their part, as they could always escape to the other’s common room if their own housemates disapproved of a prank or loss of points.

Scorpius looked around at the assembled children of the Heroes of Hogwarts with furrowed brows. “What about Rose and Albus?”

He wasn’t expecting them to burst out in laughter. “This meeting is about you and Rose, apparently,” Lysander pointed out.

“Besides, Albus can’t keep a secret from either of you,” Alice added knowingly. “We don’t want him to go blabbing to Rose.”

“To be honest, we shouldn’t even be telling you,” Hugo said.

“But this is about me?”

“Exactly,” Hugo snickered.

Scorpius sighed exhaustedly. “Okay, why then? Are you planning something?”

Roxanne coughed to get his attention. “Well, you finally realized you fancy Rose, yeah?”

“WHAT?!” Scorpius had _not_ been prepared to hear that, and yet, he couldn’t piece together any argument to deny it. He could feel his face flushing against his will.

Lily pointed at Lorcan and Alice with a smug grin. “Looks like the game is over! Ready to pay up?”

Lucy stepped forward calmly. “We’re going to do exactly what happened with you, of course! She’s gonna catch you shirtless and go speechless because–”

“That won’t possibly work,” Lorcan tried to cut in, but Lucy turned a rather fierce glare onto him, and Scorpius suddenly recalled why Hufflepuff’s mascot was a badger.

“--because you’ll have a rose tattoo that’ll catch her by surprise,” Lucy finished, smiling innocently at the group as she bounced on her toes.

“Assuming something like that would work-”

“Scorpius will do fine.” The room went silent as Selene spoke in her quiet but firm voice for the first time. Scorpius didn’t know what to make of her confident tone. He decided to brush it off for now.

“Mum did always say that Weasleys were suckers for extravagant shows of affection,” Roxanne mused.

Lily scoffed. “Knowing your dad, that’s not surprising at all.”

“Knowing all of you, it’s not surprising at all,” Michael commented, but he cringed away with protest when Hugo reached out to ruffle his blond hair.

“Oh hush– you’re practically a Weasley too,” Hugo shot back.

“Okay, fine. For the sake of argument,” Scorpius pinched the bridge of his nose, “where would I possibly get a tattoo?”

“Oh, that’s the easy part,” Lysander said. “At Hogsmeade next weekend, you’ll get it from the same person who gives it to all of us when we turn 17– our Uncle Charlie.”

“ _That’s_ where Albus got his tattoo?” Scorpius blurted, before what the Gryffindor had said fully sank in. “No, wait, hold on. I’m not getting a tattoo in Hogsmeade from your _uncle_!”

“I agree.” Alice’s interjection was surprising but extremely welcomed by Scorpius. “I know Scorpius best out of all of you, and I don’t think that’s the way to do it. Like Aunt Angelina apparently said, big shows of affection are a _Weasley_ thing. Not a Scorpius thing.”

“But Selene–”

By the irritation that crossed the small brunette’s face, she didn’t appreciate being spoken for. “I said _Scorpius_ will do fine. We need to support, not lead.”

“Alright, you lot,” Alice ordered, shifting fully into her Head Girl mode as she surveyed her suddenly abashed cousins. “Get to supper before Headmistress McGonagall notices all the Weasleys are missing and assumes we’ve plotted something heinous.” Her voice may have been teasing, but Scorpius thought it was a fairly accurate prediction. “I’ll deal with Scorpius.”

The various Weasleys sent him furtive looks as they filed out in an orderly fashion, although not without some grumbling. Selene was the last to leave, sending him a bright smile and cheerful wave as she shut the door and left him alone with Alice.

The two Head students of Hogwarts stared at each other for several silent moments before Scorpius couldn’t handle the weight of her gaze anymore and looked at the floor.

“I didn’t want to tell them how you feel about permanent tattoos because of your dad,” Alice sighed finally. “I’m sorry they were being so pushy.”

“No, no,” Scorpius waved his hand to dismiss her apology. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You kept my secret.” He began to pace back and forth to try and ground his thoughts. “They meant well, but the fact is…”

“That you just realized you love one of your best friends and have no idea how to tell her?”

Her blunt summary drew a startled laugh out of him. “That’s one way to put it.”

The blonde girl’s eyes were twinkling with amusement as she observed Scorpius nervously carding his hands through his hair. “I do have an idea that might work.”

“At this point, I’m all ears.”

Alice beckoned him closer with one hand while using the other to pull her loose hair to cascade over her right shoulder as she spun on her heel. Her free hand tugged down on the collar of her dress, exposing the black outline of a crow on the back of her left shoulder and ending in the crevice of her neck. Scorpius watched with wide eyes as the crow shook its wings slightly, causing its feathers to ruffle.

“What Lysander conveniently failed to mention is that we all get tattoos of our _P_ _atronus_ when we turn 17,” Alice explained. She let go of her shirt and turned back around, her wand now drawn. _“Expecto patronum!”_ The familiar form of Alice’s crow Patronus burst out the end of her wand and flew a lap around the room before she cancelled the charm and let it fade away.

“Oh _Merlin,_ ” Scorpius breathed quietly as the meaning of her words fully struck him. “I’m her Patronus.”

“Yep! And what better way to let her know about your reciprocal feelings than by showing her that she’s yours?”

He frowned at his friend. “Alice, you know I’ve never been able to produce a corporeal Patronus.”

She crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. “When’s the last time you tried? Last year in defense, when you stormed out to keep from hexing Stevens when he made fun of you?”

Damn. It was nigh impossible to get anything by Alice Longbottom. 

“Yes,” he admitted.

“And that’s why we’re going to meet here after supper every day until you’re able to form one,” she stated confidently. “Although, I think you’ll pick it up quicker than you expect.”

It had been a while since Scorpius had felt such a strong surge of hope rush through him. If he could make a Patronus, then he’d prove his worthiness to Rose and anyone who dared protest. It’d prove to the world that he wasn’t Dark, and most importantly, it’d prove to himself that he was good enough for Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice Longbottom: Head Girl, Gryffindor, 7th year.  
> Lorcan Scamander: Ravenclaw, 6th year.  
> Lysander Scamander: Gryffindor, 6th year.  
> Roxanne Weasley: Gryffindor, 6th year.  
> Lily Potter: Slytherin, 5th year.  
> Hugo Weasley: Ravenclaw, 5th year.  
> Lucy Weasley: Hufflepuff, 5th year.  
> Michael Longbottom: Hufflepuff, 4th year.  
> Selene Scamander: Slytherin, 3rd year.


	3. Chapter 3

Scorpius paced anxiously in the Weasley’s secret meeting room a week later as he waited for Rose to show up. Alice’s messenger Patronus had arrived several minutes prior to let him know that the girl was on her way up– they’d pretended as if a Weasley-gamot meeting had been called so Scorpius could speak to her in a private yet familiar area, so Rose wouldn’t feel as caught off guard.

He had to keep himself moving to try and keep his nervousness at bay. What if his fears kept him from being able to cast the spell? What would Rose think of him? Hopefully they’d still be friends– he didn’t want to lose her.

His mind went blank as the door swung open and the subject of his thoughts stepped into the room. It was a Thursday evening, so she was still in her school robes, and yet Scorpius found himself speechless anyways. 

“Scorp? What are you doing here?” Rose asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “How do you even know to be here?”

“Close the door?” He asked. You never knew who could be trying to listen in from the corridors, and he didn’t want to take any chances. There could always be a Potter or Weasley trying to sneak in wearing the Potter invisibility cloak.

Rose shut the door behind her and walked further into the room. “Is something wrong? Why did we meet here instead of the Head student common room, or even the Room of Requirement?”

“I have something to tell you– and to show you,” he amended, stumbling over his words. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “I’m just going to show you first.” 

“Alright,” she agreed softly, her voice tinged with a mixture of confusion and amusement as she watched him close his eyes and raise his wand.

Scorpius focused intently on the deep, warm, terrifying feeling he had practiced finding the past week. It was what he felt as a child, crawling into his parents’ bed at night and being nestled closely between them. It was curling up in front of the Slytherin fireplace with Albus and Rose as they listened to Albus read their History of Magic textbook in a hushed tone. It was the easy acceptance of the Weasley cousins at their family meeting only days ago… and it was the way Rose looked at him now.

_ “Expecto Patronum!” _

Rose gasped as a solid form took shape from the bright silver wisps that streamed forth into the air. Scorpius’ dragonfly might’ve been much larger than non-magical varieties, but it swirled around Rose’s head with the same graceful swoops of a normal dragonfly. He watched with cautious joy as she extended her hand out, palm facing upwards for his Patronus to gently alight on her skin.

“Scorpius– it’s  _ gorgeous, _ ” she murmured.

“I looked up what they represent,” he explained softly. “Change, transformation, self-realization. I think I couldn’t form it corporeally before now because I didn’t realize what I loved.” He shifted his feet as her gaze shot up to meet his. “I know we don’t have the same patronus, so we’re not soulmates… but I love you, Rose. You’ve helped push me so I could become a better person. You compete with me, you’ve taught me to be more confident, clearly,” he joked, gesturing at himself. “You’re the most important person in my life.”

“Really?” She whispered.

He slowly stepped toward her and nodded in confirmation. “Don’t tell Albus– he’ll never stop whining about my favoritism.”

Rose laughed in surprise at his quick joke and reached out to grab his wrist and pull him closer to her. “When did you realize?” She asked, her head tilting back to peer up at him.

Scorpius winced slightly. “I accidentally saw your tattoo.”

“Oh! So you  _ did _ see me in the Gryffindor tent. Good, I was worried that hadn’t worked.”

Scorpius stared at Rose blankly as a smug grin spread across her face. “What?” He could feel his Patronus charm dissipate due to his surprise.

“You freaked out and spilled pumpkin juice all over the table when I asked you if you fancied anyone a few weeks ago,” she said, and Scorpius shut his eyes for a moment at the reminder of the incident. “I didn’t want to startle you by asking directly if you’d go out with me, so I waited for you to realize your feelings.”

“So… you were waiting for me?”

“Yes and no,” she cringed. “I had been waiting for you just to talk, since I’d become inpatient. But you took so long to show up, so I decided to practice flying some drills.” She poked him in the chest chastisingly. “You just happened to show up then. It wasn’t on purpose, but I’m not complaining now and it seems like you aren’t either.”

“You bloody Gryffindors,” Scorpius sighed as he drew her into a hug. They fit together like puzzle pieces, her forehead pressing against his pulse as he rested his chin atop her curls. He wasn’t upset in the slightest– in fact, a major part of him was relieved. She had tried to give him space to figure things out. He knew he would’ve most likely bolted from the tent if she had tried to talk to him about his feelings. But, as it turned out, the accidental circumstances that had led to his realization were just what he needed to figure it out for himself.

Scorpius silently thanked Magic and the universe for giving him a knock over the head.

“Ah, but you love us,” he heard Rose mumble as her arms wrapped securely around his waist.

“Just one.” He mustered up his courage and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “One is enough for me.”


End file.
